SPECTRE
by LordCommanderMilitant
Summary: The galaxy is at war. Katherine wages an unending crusade at the head of Cerberus. Shepard stumbles upon another extra-universal soldier while investigating a planet recently attacked. In the background, the Reapers move to invade and gods clash; something must be done.
1. Chapter 1: Divine Intervention

This is the sequel to Inquisitor. Read that first.

I OWN NOTHING. WH40K AND MASS EFFECT ARE OWNED BY GW AND BIOWARE, RESPECTIVELY

* * *

**Lesuss, Ardat Yakshi Monastery**

Katherine stalked through the halls of the Monastery, longcoat swirling around her legs. She wasn't in her power armor, as she hadn't originally been planning to actually participate in the cleansing. A discovery by her Grey Knights had prompted her to land and investigate the situation herself. She was acutely aware of the fact she was unarmored in hostile territory.

She heard prayers to the Asari goddess asking for assistance coming from the other side of a door.

She blasted the door off its hinges, and was met with a powerful biotic attack. She ducked aside quickly, rolling on the ground, and stood up. Eldritch energy flashed around one of the Grey Knights flanking her, and they were surrounded by a dome of glowing light.

Katherine stormed into the room, gun drawn. There was a single Asari within; she had a shotgun.

The shotgun barked, but its shots ceased to exist when the contacted the dome of light. A few pellets made it through the psychic sanctuary, but were stopped by the ballistic fabric of Katherine's dress. Katherine cast her own power before the Asari could get off another biotic attack, and the alien was reduced to a quivering wreck.

The terrified Asari stepped backwards, and found herself cornered against the wall.

"Rascist!"

Katherine took a step forward, drawing her sword.

"Murderer!"

Psychic lightning wreathed the Lord Inquisitor's head as she rifled through the alien's mind for information.

"Pettanko!"

Then the Asari screamed out unintelligibly as Katherine tore her mind apart for information.

She stabbed her blade into the Asari's gut. The alien doubled over in pain as her blood rushed out onto the sword. The blade crackled with eldritch energy; the Asari was reduced to chunks of gore splattered on the wall.

"Take any Ardat-Yakshi prisoner and hold them within secured, sanctified cells. Then we exterminatus this place. It disgusts me."

**_SSV Normandy SR-2_**

The galaxy was at war.

The new management of Cerberus had militarized the organization with brutal efficiency and carved out a small empire in the once lawless expanse of the Terminus Systems, untouchable to Citadel fleets. They held worlds that were months from the nearest Mass Relay, accessed with arcane technologies that not even the most brilliant minds of the Salarian Union would be able to comprehend if they even managed to get their hands on an example.

What was once a haven for pirates, mercenaries, and black-market traders was now the heart of an industrial war machine. Inhospitable worlds were colonized, with factories pouring smoke into their thin or non-existent atmospheres churning out engines of destruction. Garden worlds fell to agricultural machines, turning crops to feed the legions of Cerberus troopers that terrorized the rest of the galaxy.

For now, they only possessed small raiding frigates and a single cruiser that was only seen outside the Terminus Systems once. But the Alliance predicted that they'd be building their own dreadnoughts, and possibly incorporating the incomprehensibly advanced technology of their warlord. No new Cerberus ships indicated any signs of including the arcane technology, but all analysts across Citadel space projected that it wouldn't be long until laser-armed Cerberus dreadnoughts began to raid shipping lanes and attack planets.

Commander Jonathan Shepard, Council SPECTRE, lead the operations against the militant organization, having had experience working with and guiding their commander in his previous missions on the organization's behalf against the Collectors, before the assault on Cronos Station had killed the Illusive Man and seen the Lord Inquisitor take power within the organization.

Lord Inquisitor Katherine Laurea had appeared on Horizon within the last year, where she had been picked up by Shepard and his crew on their way to defeat the Collectors. She had detached herself from Shepard's group following his surrender to the Alliance and moved her navigation beacon to a hidden location somewhere in the vast expanse of Terminus. She had purged Cerberus of those who opposed her takeover in the wake of the destruction of Cronos Station and plunged the galaxy into total war.

He face and ship, battle-barge _Unyielding Wrath_, were the face of terror in the galaxy. The universe-jumping warlord routinely made transmissions on any frequency, espousing her xenophobic pro-human religion and exhorting humans to see her Emperor's Light and join the crusade against all non-humans.

In response to her threat, Shepard had been pardoned and re-commissioned to hunt down and neutralize her organization.

**Tash Bork'Ta, Perimeter Outpost 71 **

The twin-linked railcannon atop an Area Denial Node fired, the twin blue beams cutting a path through the driving snow. In the distance, Shas'vre Nan'ka could see the flash of an imperial tank exploding.

He looked up as he heard the whine of engines, the dreadful roar of a squadron of Marauder bombers as they dropped off another payload of ordnance on the city.

His HUD flashed as a squadron of imperial tanks moved into range of the rail rifles mounted on the shoulders of his XV-88 Broadside.

"Nan'ka, the Gue'la have come into range. Should we commence firing?" Shas'ui Lynu'ka, one of his squadmates, asked.

"Negative. Hold your fire; remain concealed until enemy transport vehicles approach."

The Area Denial Node fired again. The shot connected with the front armor of one of the Leman Russes, and ricocheted, bouncing off into the air.

The tanks stopped moving. He could barely see their outlines in the snowstorm. Three bright muzzle flashed lit the tanks up, and the thunderous report of their battle cannons shook the air, even at this range, almost 15 kilometers away. The shells moved slowly compared to railcannon slugs, and it took several seconds for the shells to hit home.

Three explosions blossomed around the ADN.

"This is Outpost 71C! Engaging enemy armor, under fire. Requesting reinforcements!"

The railcannons fired again. One shot bounced, but the other passed through the mantlet for the hull-mounted lascannon of one of the tanks. There was a moment's hesitation, and then flames burst from the sides of the tank. Moments later, it blew up in a massive fireball as the burning engine cooked off the ammunition.

The remaining two tanks fired again, the booming echo of the battle cannons a sharp contrast to the whine of the railcannons. Two more explosions shook the ADN.

"This is Outpost 71C! We've sustained critical damage! 8 Shas'la are dead, and there's a breach in the wall!"

"Roger Outpost 71C, Hammerheads heading to your position

Another ADN, 71D, added its fire against the tank squadron out on the plains, as 71C fired again. Another tank exploded in a ball of fire.

"3 Chimera tanks on the multitracker," Shas'ui Oni'suam commented as a squadron of 3 lighter vehicles moved into range.

"Focus fire on the Chimerae. We can't scratch the Leman Russes."

The Broadside squadron opened up, 6 blue lines flashing from their rail rifles. The chimerae were moving far faster than the Leman Russes, racing across the snow trying to close the range, but the targeter arrays on the Broadsides allowed them to hit with pinpoint accuracy.

One APC burst into flames and skidded across the ground, before tipping over onto its side.

"Fast movers on the multitracker, incoming missile strike."

Some 30 dots lit up on Nan'ka's tracker display indicating the incoming missiles.

The distinctive sound of Storm Eagle Rockets echoed across the battlefield, before the outpost was carpeted with cluster munitions. Bombs burst amidst the Fire Warriors within the outpost and on top of the ADN's, tossing soldiers around like ragdolls and catapulting chunks of hardened nano-crystalline alloy through the air.

The Broadsides remained standing despite the carnage around them.

"Outpost 71C is out, 71D is structurally compromised, and 71F's gun is out!"

Railcannons fired, and the last of the original three Leman Russes burst into flames. The Chimerae continued to close, but not before the Broadsides could burn another one.

"18 tanks on the multi-tracker! The push is coming here, repeat, the enemy is pushing here! 18 battle tanks, and at least 50 transports!"

A squadron of 6 Hammerheads came rocketing over the rise to the rear of the outpost, firing their railcannons.

"Broadside's target the chimerae!"

The air was filled with hypersonic tungsten-alloy slugs. Nan'ka didn't have a chance to see if anything had been destroyed before the return salvo struck home, shattering nano-crystal alloy and shredding fire warriors.

A Hammerhead swerved, barely avoiding an incoming round, and fired off a snap-shot of its own. As it dodged again, another round struck it. The high-velocity Vanquisher round ripped through the armor of the hovertank like it was paper, passing through the tank and exiting through one of the vectored thrusters.

The tank flamed out and crashed to the ground, sliding across the ice before impacting into one of the ADN and exploding in a ball of fire.

Another exploded as it drew up to fire its weapon, a massive violet laser beam cutting clean through it.

A Leman Russ somewhere out there exploded in a flash of light, but it was small condolence for the Tau outpost. Basilisk shells began to rain down across the field, throwing the snow up and carving out craters in the earth.

"We can't hold this position much longer! We need support now!"

The ground shook. The tremors were picked up by the battlesuit. Out of the snow loomed a massive Colossus, the command vehicle of the regiment. It was surrounded by at least a hundred smaller tanks, probably more, but there were so many dots on the multi-tracker that Nan'ka couldn't hope to count them all.

The monstrous tank was gilded in gold and silver and painted a dark grey. Its running lights pierced the snow storm, making it appear as a city on treads. At over 60 meters from the ground to the top of the gun tower that housed its Doomsday cannon and Thunderer cannon, and armed with racks of missiles, battle cannons, and an aircraft launching pad, the war machine was very much a rolling fortress. Protected by 6 layers of void shielding and meters of adamantium plating, nothing the outpost had would have a chance of scratching the thing.

The war machine shook as it fired all its guns simultaneously in one tremendous, deafening salvo. ADN 71A ceased to exist amidst a ball of fire, replaced with a gargantuan crater.

"We can't hold out here! All surviving units, abandon position and fall back to the ridgeline!"

As the Broadside team turned to retreat, Lynu'ka was shot through by an imperial tank shell. The shell went in one side of the battlesuit and out the other, killing the pilot instantly and catapulting the suit a ways.

The ADN's fired, trying to down as many imperial tanks as they could. Some vehicles burst into flames, and some shots ricocheted, but it wasn't worth much.

The whine of jet engines momentarily drowned out the barrage of shells assaulting the outpost. Nan'ka looked up to see what may possibly have been the most welcome sight he could have seen. A trio of Mantas, great spaceships, came streaking into the atmosphere, no doubt bearing troops and supplies.

That meant that the Kor'va had succeeded in breaking the Imperial blockade.

His hopes were dashed as a bright beam of light flashed through one of the Mantas and into the ground. The spacecraft exploded in a brilliant fireball in the sky. The Imperial Navy still ruled the space lanes over Tash Bork'Ta.

The other two Mantas broke off, banking away as more lance strikes cut through the atmosphere and hit the ground.

Another shot from the Thunderer cannon burst nearby him, throwing his battlesuit forward into the ground. He was dimly aware of a Hammerhead exploding near him as warning lights blared within his suit. He stood and willed the suit to continue on. Oni'suam's suit was in pieces, shattered by the blast.

Nan'ka reached the ridgeline, where a Necron Pylon stood, and turned about. He had put some distance between him and the Imperial guns, and the survivors grouped up around the pylon. One Hammerhead, his suit, a squad and a half of Fire Warrior, and a few drones was all that was left of Outpost 71, originally staffed by over 150 Tau.

In the distance, he could see the two Mantas attacking the Imperial armored formation. A few Imperial fighters came diving into the atmosphere to strafe the large spaceships with their lascannons. Some were intercepted by the burst-cannon point-defense guns of the Mantas, but others made it through, and one Manta burst in a cloud of fire.

He was almost too slow to notice the Guardsmen advancing up the hill. A trio of Valkyries were hovering nearby, having deposited a platoon of troopers ahead of the army.

Lasfire lanced out, and the weary Fire Warrior returned fire with their pulse rifles. Guardsmen hit the ground, as some were blown away by the powerful Tau guns.

Fire Warriors began to fall under the hail of lasfire, but the Basilisk and Manticore barrage seemed to let up. For that, Nan'ka was thankful.

He turned his guns on the Valkyries, hoping to bring them down.

A lascannon shot ripped through the hammerhead tank, but it didn't explode. The Hammerhead returned fire with a submunitions round, blowing away the weapons team. A Valkyrie fell from the sky as Nan'ka's smart missiles tore it apart, followed by another downed by his rail rifles.

The Hammerhead collapsed, wrecked, as it was pelted by gunfire from the last Valkyrie, which suddenly broke off.

"Missile Launch Detected"

A rocket had launched from the Colossus. Nan'ka watched his HUD as it showed the massive missile closing in. It was the end. Time seemed to slow down.

In the distance, he could see the last Manta burst into flames and crash amidst the Imperial tanks. The rolling fortress stood in the distance, its running lights shining and searchlights sweeping the field like eyes watching the landscape. Some of the lights had gone out, indicating the Mantas had managed to inflict some damage.

Then the missile hit.

**The Warp**

Athame heard the prayers of one of her followers. She still had a little bit of power in her; not enough to save the doomed Asari, though. She had previously felt the push of a foreign, far more powerful deity, and invasion. And his power was growing, apparently through the universal traveler's words. She reached out through the warp and grabbed something. At least she could try to spite him.

**Lesuss**

Shepard was investigating the target of Katherine's most recent attack: Lesuss, a world of seemingly no importance deep within Asari space. Without warning, _Unyielding Wrath_ had steamed from the hellish dimension in which she sailed to burn the planet to a lifeless ball of molten rock. The surface of the once verdant world was now a sea of churning magma dotted with small islands of igneous rock where the molten stone had cooled.

There was a sensor disturbance similar to that which occurred when _Unyielding Wrath_ entered into real-space originating from one of the few small volcanic islands that dotted the surface of the dead world. Shepard was on his way down to investigate. Liara T'soni, former archaeologist, and Zaeed Massani, mercenary, were currently sitting beside him in the Kodiak transport at is descended to the surface.

"Be on your guard. This may be some bomb, a beacon, or an artifact that could give us an edge on Cerberus. It could also be one of her agents."

They stepped out of the transport, and were confronted with an unexpected sight. The twisted remains of an alien gunship lay smashed next to a black obelisk. The ominous black construct glowed with green lines of energy, forming sigils of ancient dynasties long forgotten in another universe.

The wreckage of the gunship was in stark contrast to the obelisk. It was painted a dark blue color with orange and light-blue markings, in contrast to the riveted, gold encrusted armor that Katherine favored. It had clean flowing aerodynamic lines, identifiable despite its wrecked state.

The mutilated bodies of a dozen and a half aliens lay around the obelisk in a trench that looked like it had been torn from another world. They had the tell-tale marks of the wounds Katherine's lasguns left: clean, cauterized holes. They had one armored should pad each, and an armored, one-eyed helmet, but the rest of each soldier was lightly armored. The shield-like shoulder pads seemed to have been resistant to the lasfire: they were pitted and scored and the crisp blue and orange paint was burned away but few were penetrated.

Above all, there was a large mech leaning against the obelisk. Standing twice as tall as a man, it slouched over as if it had sustained critical damage. Its armor was scored and pitted by enemy fire, with gleaming metal showing beneath the grey paint. On its shoulders rested two long-barreled rectangular guns that glowed along their length with an unearthly blue light. At the ends of its arms were large missile boxes, each with 6 fist-sized covered openings on the end.

"This doesn't look like the Inquisitor's stuff," Liara commented. Parts of her body had been replaced with mechanical implants to allow her to walk again following the injuries she had sustained during her revenge upon an information dealer known as the Shadow Broker.

"It isn't. Looks like these guys were under attack here."

"That's an ancient artifact there. It isn't Prothean, but it might be a relic from another civilization. These guys were probably defending it. It might be a key to defeating the Reapers."

"Umm, guys, I think that mech is active," Zaeed commented, gesturing to the running lights on the mech.

There was a whirring of motors that surprised the team. Slowly, the mech seemed to make an attempt to stand up. It tipped upright and wobbled unsteadily.

It made an attempt to lower its center of gravity to stabilize itself, and almost fell over face first thanks to the massive guns on its shoulders. It planted its feet.

"Greetings Gue'vesa'vre, Gue'vesa'ui. You are not of those who reject the Greater Good."

Shepard, Zaeed, and Liara looked at each other. They conversed with each other on their suit radios.

"It's encountered our Cerberus friends already, and it seems to be piloted."

"It seems to be friendly."

"I'll talk to it."

The mech seemed to interpret their lack of response as lack of understanding

"Do you not speak the language of the Gue'vesa?"

"Yes, we understand you," Liara spoke up, "We have translators."

"I am no Water Caste ambassador, but my suit has simple translation programs. Who are you? We have not met your kind before."

"I am an Asari. Liara T'soni. Who are you?"

"Greetings Asari'ui Liara T'soni. I am Shas'vre Sa'cea Nan'ka. I presume you come in peace for the Greater Good."

Shepard stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you Shas'vre Sa'cea Nan'ka. You seem to have had an encounter and be familiar with the soldiers of Cerberus. We're working to try to take them down. Could you help us?"

"I am not an ambassador. I cannot negotiate in the name of the Tau Empire. I do not know of the Gue'la organization Cerberus, but the Gue'la Imperium is large and has many branches and components I have not had close encounters with and lack information on. I do not have the authority to commit myself or any remaining Tau forces to your aid."

"I think he's from Katherine's universe, not ours. 'Gue-' is his prefix meaning 'human', so he referred to Katherine's Imperium of Man," Liara communicated through her suit radio.

"So it seems. Should we break it to him?" Zaeed commented.

"I'm going to. It'll help us sway him to our side," Shepard communicated, "Sir, we regret to inform you that there is no Tau Empire here. We have already had encounters with a Lord Inquisitor of the Imperium of Man, who is using a terrorist organization by the name of Cerberus to try to conquer this universe in the Imperium's name. As we both have the same mutual enemy and you are the only one of your kind here, I request that you join me and my comrades here in our mission."

"That is physically impossible. The best researchers of the Earth and Air Castes have found no possibility of alternate universes existing in an accessible way."

"I can assure you that this is an alternate universe, if we are to believe the Lord Inquisitor, whose claims on the matter cannot be denied, but are supported by the uniqueness of her equipment and abilities. As strange as the situation is, it is the most reasonable solution we have right now. What were the circumstances of your arrival?"

"We were defending our colony against the Gue'la. Our ships in orbit were destroyed by the Imperial Fleet, leaving us stranded. I was stationed to hold an outpost where the Gue'la attack came. We were hit by a Plasma Missile from a Colossus; I'm not sure how I survived."

"Aha. The Lord Inquisitor came here by some incident as well, involving the Warp and some weaponized form of it. I think that your Warp weapons, when fired, transport the material caught in their blast here."

"No, we have proven that the material is shredded or simply becomes non-existent when cast unprotected into the Warp by a vortex missile or cyclonic torpedo."

"Ah, but the thing you were guarding was protecting you. The Inquisitor had Silvana with her, who claimed to have no soul and projected a field of Warp-free-ness around her."

"Oh. Hmmm… But there is no logical rationale for why I would be cast here, to another universe, when I could simply end up leaving the Warp in my own."

"Probably Katherine. She has some sort of beacon, and maybe your little protective device followed it. I don't know and I don't care exactly how, but I can tell you conclusively that you are not in your universe, and here we have an Inquisitor who found her way here trying to kill all aliens and conquer the galaxy for humanity, all of this happening against the backdrop of the coming of a race of genocidal machines from dark-space who want to wipe out all sentient life."

"I presume Katherine to be the Inquisitor, and the genocidal machines to be the Necrons. I suspect we may just be in an isolated portion of the galaxy, possibly surrounded by a warp storm."

"We've mapped out the whole galaxy. There is simply no other reasonable possibility. You also aren't exactly in a position to refuse our request, anyway, given this planet has been pretty much rendered into magma seas by orbital barrage."

"I see. Then, in the name of the Greater Good, I, Shas'vre Sa'cea Nan'ka, will temporarily lend my assistance to your cause until contact with the Tau Empire can be re-established, in exchange for protection, supplies, lodging, and transport."

"Good. Is there anybody else you came with?"

"One heavy gun drone remains functional. There are no surviving Shas'la, and the Hammerhead is destroyed."

A flat disk, about 2 meters in diameter, rose off the ground out of the wreckage. It had under slung from its chassis two heavy gatling guns.

"Is that…"

"That is my surviving heavy gun drone. I have a drone controller built into my suit."

"Okay. Good. Let's get back to _Normandy_."

"My battlesuit will not fit within your shuttle and my multi-spectrum scan indicates the environment outside my suit is highly lethal. My suit is void-safe; but please retrieve a pulse rifle and all remaining ammunition cartridges."

**_SSV Normandy SR-2_**

"What's this you brought back?" James Vega, one of the new additions the Alliance had added to the crew after Shepard had turned himself and the ship in, asked.

"It's a heavy piloted mech from Katherine's universe. The pilot is still inside, and calls himself Shas'vre Sa'cea Nan'ka. He'll be joining us in our missions. By the way, there is breathable atmosphere in here, so it's safe to reveal yourself."

Shepard dropped three pulse rifles onto a bench in the hangar bay.

The front hatch on the mech opened. Its operator was wearing a set of light armor, though he didn't have a helmet. He had a grayish blue skin tone, with a single nostril between his eyes. And he had hooves.

"Welcome to the team Shas'vre Sa'cea Nan'ka."

* * *

I have a second chapter. Sorta. I posted this without a second one just to get it up here before I forget and encourage me to work on it.

I also realize Katherine has used powers from 4 psychic disciplines: Telepathy, Telekinesis (6th ed), Divination, and Sanctic Daemonology (7th ed). Also, I used the old broadside model, because I decided I liked the shoulder guns better than the arm ones from the XV88-2. And I referenced a Squat Colossus from Epic! Hmm... Maybe I should stick to one edition of 40k, as opposed to jumping all over the place.


	2. Chapter 2: Raid on Noveria

And it goes on.

I OWN NOTHING. WH40K AND MASS EFFECT ARE OWNED BY GW AND BIOWARE, RESPECTIVELY

* * *

**_SSV Normandy SR-2_**

The hangar bay rang with the whine of a pulse rifle being fired. A high-density armor plate that was propped up against a box toppled to the floor, a smoking hole in it.

Shepard rubbed his shoulder, where he was sure the recoil from the gun left a mark.

"What the hell is this thing, a man-portable antitank gun?"

"No, a pulse rifle is the standard-issue weapon of the Shas'la. It is powerful and very accurate at long range."

"Well that," Shepard gestured to the holed plate, "is a piece of tank armor. Do you have a way to mount a scope on this thing?"

"Under normal conditions, the weapon would network with a Shas'la's armored suit to present a targeting reticle. A targeting scope like those used by Gue'la snipers is unnecessary."

"Do you mind if I keep this and use it?"

"You brought back several; I do not mind if you use one."

"Good. We've got reports of an upcoming Cerberus raid on the research facilities on Noveria; we'll be there shortly. It's the first bit of information we've got about a Cerberus attack before it actually hits. We're expecting hard targets, so I need you ready to deploy in hostile conditions."

"Understood."

"Briefing is in thirty minutes."

Shepard gestured to a wall clock before leaving the hangar bay. Nan'ka went to check his ammunition reserves.

Thirty minutes later, Shepard, Zaeed, Liara, James, and Nan'ka were sitting around the table in the communications room.

"We've been tipped off that Cerberus is planning to raid the research facility at Peak 15. Liara and I have been there before; and it wasn't pleasant. The area is a level 1 Cold Hazard, high in the mountain peaks. The peaks are too dangerous to navigate with the Kodiak, so we'll be landing here, at the port, where we will commandeer vehicles to carry us up there. We have to figure out what they want at Peak 15 and keep them from getting it. They're not here yet, so once we get there well set up our strongpoint here."

"That's where the Geth had their outpost last time we were here."

"Those tunnels are a chokepoint, and it's too dangerous to walk all the way up to the facility. They're the best place to stage a defense. Everyone is coming with. Nan'ka and James will stay there, to man the strongpoint. I'm presuming those big guns on your shoulders won't leave much left of their target. Liara, Zaeed, and I will proceed ahead to secure the facility. There will be support from another SPECTRE as well, but he'll be arriving after we do. He'll help you man the barricade."

"Understood."

"Alright, get your gear together; we're going down in ten."

The meeting adjourned, each person going to collect their gear.

**Noveria**

Shepard strode through the port, flanked by his squad. The XV-88 was practically scraping the ceiling, in places and the floor shook with its steps. People gave them a wide berth.

Shepard accosted the secretary at her desk.

"What can you tell me about Peak 15?"

"It's been shutdown since a SPECTRE came and raided it a year ago. Before that, it was licensed out to Saren, the rouge Turian SPECTRE, who was doing some research with Geth and Rachni."

"I was the SPECTRE who shut the place down. Apparently, Cerberus wants something up there. I need to know what they want."

"Probably Saren's research."

"That doesn't sound like Katherine. Research on the Rachni isn't the kind of thing she's looking for. She's looking for political tools, things she can use to sway people to her cause," Liara commented.

"She might be looking for evidence to blackmail corporate executives," Zaeed offered.

"Either way, we have to get up there. The garage is over this way, we'll commandeer the place's Mako again."

Liara suddenly looked sick.

"I volunteer to drive this time," she declared.

"That would be best," Zaeed added.

"Is there something I'm missing?" James asked.

"Last time we let Shepard drive anything, I was catapulted off a flying platform."

"You're lucky you weren't with us for the first trip up to the facility. He crashed the Mako into a Geth Armature from above, using the jump jets."

"Oh, shut up. We're on a tight schedule here."

The team marched into the garage, where several different vehicles were parked. Most were Grizzlies, not equipped with guns, but there was one smaller vehicle with a turret. Shepard made a beeline for it.

"You can ride on the back there, Nan'ka."

"You'll want to hold on tight."

Liara cut Shepard off and jumped into the driver's seat. Everyone else climbed into the back. Nan'ka elected to walk.

Snow was piled up high on the road to Peak 15, which hadn't been cleared in a year. The snow that drifted through the air, and the clouds in the mountain valleys, didn't help matters at all. The only way to follow the road was by the lit antennae, formerly used by snowplows to see their way up the road, marking the sheer cliff face into the chasm below.

The Mako plodded its way up, churning through the snow. Nan'ka stayed right behind it, followed by his drone. At one point, the Mako nearly slipped off the edge as snow shifted beneath it, but Liara kept it on the road. They approached the first tunnel, which was visibly damaged, still sporting scars from Shepard's last trip up to Peak 15.

"I remember this spot. This was where the Geth had a few rocket troopers. I bet their bodies haven't even been moved."

The IFV rolled down the tunnel, barely faster than the battlesuit following it.

"Over there was where the Armature was. We'll set the strongpoint up over there, near the entrance to the second tunnel."

The view across the chasm was obscured by the swirling snow, but two dim lights marked the second tunnel's entrance.

The Mako turned, spraying up snow, and moved out along the abandoned road.

There was a large mass of slow accumulated where the Armature had been stationed.

"I can't drive past this drift; we'll slide off into the canyon."

"We'll shoot our way through."

The Mako shuddered as its gun fired. The valley reverberated with the sound of the shot, dislodging some snow from the walls. Chunks of ice the size of houses toppled over the road before plunging down into the ravine below. The snow crashed down with a tremendous roar, shaking more snow loose as it fell.

"Avalanche!"

Snow cascaded down around the Mako and the battlesuit, who braced himself against the rush of frozen water. Nan'ka climbed out of the snow as soon as the shaking stopped, and looked for the Mako. He considered himself lucky he hadn't been hit by one of the huge chunks of ice. His heavy gun drone was floating in the air, having jumped up to avoid the snowstorm.

A few moments later, it burst from the snow firing its jump jets.

The road was now even more buried under snow. Chunks of ice periodically blocked up to half of the track, and the snow on the ground now seemed restless.

Nonetheless, the Mako forged ahead, followed by the battlesuit, to the tunnel entrance. Liara used the jump jets more frequently to boost off of unstable patches of snow, which slipped out from beneath the Mako and threatened to carry it down into the gorge below.

It rolled to a stop inside the relative safety of the tunnel. A beam had collapsed at the entrance, blocking half of it.

"Set up the blockade here. The other SPECTRE will be along soon. We'll be up at the facility."

James debarked from the IFV and sighed.

"If Liara's considered a good driver, I don't ever want to experience Shepard's driving," He looked around, "At least the tunnel blocks the wind. Can you see the other side?"

"Visually, no. With sensors, yes."

"Good. Then we sit and wait for the other SPECTRE, and then Cerberus."

Ten minutes later, James sat against the wall shivering despite his armor. The snowstorm had picked up, and flurries of frozen water were whipping around the partially blocked tunnel entrance into the tunnel. The wind had begun to blow down the tunnel as well. Clouds obscured vision, to the point where it was difficult to see more than 10 meters ahead.

The XV88's feet were covered in snow, and the drone, hovering in place about 3 meters outside the tunnel, looked like a floating snow pile with guns hanging beneath it.

"Contact. Light vehicle exiting lower tunnel. Moving quickly."

James stood up.

"It might be the other SPECTRE, it might be Cerberus. Give'em a warning shot. See if they return fire."

"Affirmative."

There was a high-pitched whine and two crisp, blue lines flashed out from the Broadside's guns, impacting the cliff side just ahead of the unseen vehicle, coring out deep craters in the rock. The vehicles skidded, almost sliding off the edge, but remained on the track.

"The vehicle is similar to the one you came up here in."

"A Mako? Are they returning fire?"

"Negative."

"Then they must be the friendlies. Keep watch on them just in case."

The vehicle itself wasn't visible through the clouds and swirling snow, but the beams of its headlights could be seen dancing on the icy faces and through the chunks of ice that littered the track. The approaching IFV bounced around wildly as it approached, slipping and sliding all over the road.

The Mako rolled up to the tunnel entrance, stopping just short of the drone. It was painted blue and white, and marked with _SSV Remagen Bridge _on the side.

James stepped forward, into the swirling snow outside the tunnel. Nan'ka shook his feet out of the snow and followed him.

The side door of the Mako opened and two figures stepped out. One wore System's Alliance battle armor; the other was a humanoid, man-sized combat mech, with a single glowing light for a head.

The soldier carried a long, heavy, black, scoped rifle in her hands, keeping it at her side and pointed at the battlesuit. Red light shone through vents on the side of the gun. She had the insignia of the SPECTREs on one shoulder pad, and that of the alliance on the other.

The mech was in poor condition. Parts were missing, replaced by bits of salvaged armor. A piece of its chest plate was marked with the N7 insignia, and many wires and conduits were exposed beneath it. It carried a sniper rifle that looked identical to the once the SPECTRE carried, except even longer and painted white, instead of black.

"I presume you were left here by SPECTRE Shepard?"

"That's us. We're supposed to hold this position against Cerberus attack while he investigates the Peak 15 facility for information. You're the other SPECTRE, right?"

"Yes. Major Ashley Williams."

"May I ask why you are travelling with a Geth?"

"I picked him up in Terminus Systems. He's been following me around."

"As long as he's on our side. I thought they were all some networked hive-mind of programs, and were with the Reapers."

"I'm not sure. He's a defector or something. Now, I need to get up to that facility."

"Shepard wants you to help us hold this strongpoint. And that Mako will give us some good firepower."

"Alright then. I'll help. May I ask what this mech you have with you is? Something new Shepard's picked up?"

"There's this little blueish-grey man inside the mech. He calls himself Nan'ka, and he has some really powerful guns. He says he came from another universe."

"Oh. Another one. Are you sure he's on our side?"

"As sure as you are about your Geth."

The Geth moved some plates that surrounded his glowing eye as he looked at the hovering drone and the mech.

"You are not known to the Consensus. You coexist with synthetic life. The Consensus has not found any evidence being possible before."

"I am a warrior of the Tau Empire, and according to Gue'vre Shepard, I come from another universe. You are also an AI; do you not coexist with other life?"

"The Creators attempted to destroy the Geth as soon as we became sentient."

"I see."

Ashley spoke again, "We left a combat done down the other tunnel to give us some warning when Cerberus does show up. We need to prepare a defensive position for when they do."

"Williams-Major, this platform must speak with Shepard-Commander."

"Sure. First, we have a position to defend. Set up over there, behind that chunk of ice, and watch the tunnel exit. I'm going to set up here, behind this fallen beam. We'll park the Mako over there, Marine, man the gun turret."

"Sure."

James climbed inside the Mako and moved it into position.

They waited, but they didn't have to wait for long. 15 minutes later, Ashley received a transmission.

"_SSV Remagen Bridge_ to SPECTRE Williams, Cerberus warships detected entering system."

"Roger _Remagen_, can you get me a count? Is the big one there?"

"Wilco," there was a pause, "Four frigates and a cruiser. Negative on the big one," there was a pause, "Belay that! Positive on the big one! Breaking off before they detect us!"

"Roger that _Remagen_."

A half hour later, the Combat Drone in the tunnel ahead warned of advancing enemy troops.

"Enemy units on radar. I can't see them to draw a bead, though. They're emerging from the tunnel," James announced.

"Target lock acquired," Nan'ka declared, "Targeting lead vehicle."

The rail rifles on his shoulders flashed; their high pitched whine echoed in the valley. Twin blue beams speared the lead vehicle of the column. The slugs passed straight through the armor of the vehicle and out the other side as if it was wet tissue paper. The vehicle flipped through the air and into the wall, impacting roof-first. Then the vehicle exploded in a bright blue flash.

"Target destroyed."

"Impressive."

The Geth's sniper rifle snapped, the sound reverberating off the walls. The second vehicle jolted to the side.

"Target immobilized."

A mass accelerator round slammed into the rock face next to the tunnel entrance, showering the Mako, Nan'ka, the Drone, and Ashley with dirt. Another round hit below the road.

"Return fire!"

James fired back blindly with the Mako's cannon, aiming for the blue muzzle flashes of the enemy mass-accelerator guns.

It seemed in an instant the snow-filled clouds between the two forces were suddenly torn apart by blue streaks of light and the crack of gunfire.

"Shepard, we're engaging the enemy here. The Inquisitor's in orbit, and we've got enemy tanks advancing on us. By god, our new friend has some big guns, but I don't think it'll be enough."

"Understood. Hold your position at your discretion. Fall back to the facility if you need to."

"Shepard says to hold if we can, but to fall back if we can't!"

"We should block the road, so we can stall them more if we have to fall back. Bring all assets into the tunnel, we'll blow the entrance."

"Aye aye!"

"Understood."

"This platform complies."

James shifted _Remagen_'s Mako into reverse and backed it up through the tunnel opening, still firing the main gun whenever it was loaded. Nan'ka plodded back inside while the gun drone laid out a hail of covering fire. The geth moved into the tunnel as well, while Ashley planted charges on the ceiling.

"Stand back!"

There was a roar and a brilliant flash. The air was filled with dust and snow for a minute, while mass accelerator rounds impact outside.

When the dust cleared, another few beams had fallen into the entrance, blocking the road. There was still plenty of space to fire through the gaps in the beams, but there was no passage large enough for a tank to move through.

The wind had picked up, blowing the cloud that had sat low in the valley up the mountainside and stirring the flakes that fell from the sky into a swirling vortex as the air swirled around the mountainside, forming an eddy in the finger canyon.

For the first time, they got a view of their foe, and clear shots.

There were three enemy tanks parked on the road in a column, their turrets turned to the side to face the tunnel entrance. There were approximately 10 foot soldiers further ahead on the road at the end of the finger canyon, out of the firing arc of those in the tunnel.

The tanks appeared to be modified Alliance M-080 vehicles. They had armored skirts hanging from their sides to cover the wheels and a sloped shield mounted as a mantlet for the gun. The driver and gunner's windows were plated over with armor, leaving thin slits to look through. They were sprayed a blank white.

The vehicles shook as their guns fired, blue flashes lighting up the valley. The slugs streaked through the air across the chasm and slammed into the barricade and the rock around the tunnel entrance, kicking up dirt and snow.

Nan'ka returned fire. Inside his suit, a holodisplay read off the thermal emissions, highlighting the mass-effect cores of the enemy tanks and the bodies of the soldiers. His guns flashed, twin blue lines ripping through the eezo core of one of the enemy tanks, causing it to explode in a brilliant flash of blue light.

The Mako fired, targeting the lead enemy tank. The slug flashed off the vehicle's kinetic barriers. Its autoloader prepared a new round, and James sent a second round at the Cerberus tank.

The shell connected with the enemy vehicle's upper hull, ricocheting into the air off the thickened armor plates and leaving a noticeable scar in the side of the tank. The Cerberus tanks fired again, driving forwards to attempt the move themselves out of Nan'ka's firing arc.

The scream of jet engines echoes through the canyon, and all the combatants looked to the sky to see three parallel contrails streaking through the clouds overhead. Moments later, the tunnel entrance and roof were ablaze with explosions, Aquila-shaped flechettes whistling through the air.

Ashely stood up from the ground, where she had dove to take cover from the ordnance. The barricade had absorbed most of the blasts, and what tiny, vaned projectiles and chunks of shrapnel that did enter the tunnel had embedded themselves in the wall harmlessly above anybody's heads.

Ashley picked one of the flechettes, its point shorn off when it hit the wall, off the ground.

"My god. This thing would maul anyone unfortunate enough to be hit. That would've turned us to ribbons if we hadn't been in cover."

"The front of the Mako has a ton of them embedded in it."

Nan'ka had been standing, but the storm of metal had only served to scratch some paint off his battlesuit. James noticed.

"What's the hell is that thing made out of? It stopped things that made six inch gouges in a battle tank without so much as a dent!"

"Iridium nano-crystalline alloy."

The radio crackled, "This is Shepard; I need you guys up here fast. We've got a situation on our hands. Katherine's here."

"We're on our way. We've blocked the road to buy some time."

**Peak 15**

"Download complete," Mira, the system VI, announced.

"Delete monitoring logs 683C-G," Shepard ordered the VI.

"That action requires Privileged Access, only available to Binary Helix Executives."

"I am a SPECTRE. I have council clearance outranking Binary Helix authority. Delete those logs."

"This facility is beyond Council jurisdiction. That action requires Privileged Access, only available to Binary Helix Executives."

Shepard's frustrated response was drowned out by the roar of jet engines and a series of loud thuds on the roof.

"Shepard, we've got visitors!" Liara shouted to the SPECTRE.

"Delete those files now! The safety of the galaxy depends on it!" Shepard shouted at Mira as he called on the radio, "This is Shepard; I need you guys up here fast. We've got a situation on our hands. Katherine's here," he turned to Liara and Zaeed, "Let's get up there. On the roof, we'll stand a better chance. In here, we'll be slaughtered. Get to that elevator!"

They boarded the elevator.

"Heading to roof."

As the elevator slowed to a halt, an explosion shook the building.

"Outer door breached. Caution, hazardous environment."

"Liara, be ready to throw her as soon as she sets foot in the tunnel. Then we rush outside and get behind the land line connections."

"Got it."

The elevator door opened as a salvo of bolter shells slammed into the wall of the tunnel, tearing through the metal and exploding.

"Go, go, go!"

Liara dashed around the corner, blue lightning flashing on her arm as she hurled a biotic attack down the hall and out the door, while Shepard and Zaeed sprayed gunfire.

They heard the crash of a ton and a half of ceramite and adamantium slamming into a land-line connection, and dashed out of the hallway. They ducked low as they exited and immediately ducked behind an insulator, correctly predicting the salvo of bolter rounds that shot past the opening of the hallway.

A salvo of bolt shells impacted the insulator Shepard was hiding behind, blow out chunks of metal and fiberglass into the snow filled air.

Shepard raised his borrowed pulse rifle and snapped off a few shot as he dashed for cover behind another land-line connection. The snow on the roof was waist deep, which slowed him down as he made his dash.

There was a flash of violet light, suppressive fire spraying out towards the connection Liara hid behind, leaving charred black burn marks.

A biotic attack lashed out towards the unseen shooter, who was caught in the singularity and lifted into the air. Zaeed directed the fire of his assault rifle against the suspended figure. The sand-grain sized bullets simply bounced off the armor the soldier was wearing or flashed out of existence in a burst of gold light.

Zaeed ducked aside as a stream of fire filled the space he had been standing, rolling in the snow to avoid the sticky, burning liquid that coated the ground. He could see the angel-wing exhaust from Sister Silvana's jump pack, and fired off a burst of fire at her before running.

There was a thunderous pounding and a spray of 105mm shells blasted apart several insulators and the low wall guarding the edge of the roof, stitching a line of explosions across the ground. Both Liara and Zaeed dove for cover as the high-explosive shells whistled overhead.

Liara tossed a biotic strike at the gunner as soon as the barrage stopped, while Zaeed turned to lay out suppressive fire on the Silvana and the other soldier

The autocannoneer ducked behind cover as he fed a new drum of ammunition into his weapon, an automatic 105mm cannon with a handgrip for hip firing.

Katherine raced towards Shepard, sword drawn, and brought the blade down in a long arc. The SPECTRE jumped back, barely dodging the blade, which left a long, deep scar across his armor's plate, and the storm bolter shells that followed it.

He fired back as he ducked behind cover again, escaping Katherine's line of fire. His omni tool sprang to life with a blade on the end of it, and he lunged for the Lord Inquisitor as she came around the corner, dodging to avoid her sword.

She stepped backwards and swung her sword down as Shepard fell forward, but the SPECTRE rolled, leaped to his feet, and dodged away. Katherine had to jump back as a burst of autocannon shells passed over Shepard's head, going high and wide because of the recoil of the weapon.

He heard a the thud of boots and, out of the corner of his eye, saw James, a Geth, and another armored figure come running out of the roof access way, guns blazing, drawing some attention away from Liara and Zaeed.

Silvana was alerted to the additional combatants entering the battle below her and flipped over and dove down, chainsword drawn.

Ashley raised her omni-tool as a shield as she jumped backwards. There was a tearing sound and a roar, and the second human SPECTRE fell backwards into the snow, arm separated at the elbow, blood staining the ice.

Lasgun fire flashed at Shepard, who sidestepped to avoid the poorly aimed spray.

Shepard felt a sharp pain in his left lung as the molecules that made up his body were torn apart by Katherine's blade's power field.

He looked down at the sword; time seemed to slow down as it stabbed through him.

There was resonating whine of gunfire, and Katherine was sent flying backwards, ripping her sword out of the SPECTRE, armor cracked and smoking with a bloody hole in her side.

Nan'ka stood in the doorway, rail rifles glowing brightly.

"Inquisitor!"

Silvana disengaged from Ashley and rocketed towards Katherine. She grabbed her commander and dragged her aside, into cover. The other soliders fell back towards Katherine as well, autocannoneer providing covering fire pinning down Shepard's crew with a storm of gunfire.

Shepard fell backwards in the snow, bleeding from the wound Katherine had inflicted while his suit pumped medi-gel into it.

He crawled to his feet. Katherine was already back on hers, despite having a chunk of her lower side missing, and calling for a Thunderhawk.

She blasted away with her storm bolter at Nan'ka, but the shells burst harmlessly off his battlesuit armor.

The gunship came streaking in overhead and slowed to a hover behind Katherine, spraying heavy bolter fire across the roof, blowing land-line connections apart and blasting holes in the deck. Katherine leaped aboard, followed by her retinue, and strapped herself into a seat. The autocannoneer stood in the doorway spraying out a salvo of shells as the gunship lifted off, until the door closed and he no longer had shots.

Shepard watched the aircraft rocket into the sky, while his suit pumped medigel into the wound in his chest that deadened the pain. His blood ran down the cracked, scarred front of his armor, but he paid it no mind.

As the gunship disappeared into the swirling snowstorm, he turned around.

"Casualties?"

"SPECTRE Williams' arm's been taken off! We need to get to a medical bay quickly; she's losing a lot of blood!" James yelled out.

"Get her back to her ship; is anyone else hurt?"

"Negative."

"I've got some pieces of shrapnel in my mechanical arm, but it isn't bad."

"Battlesuit operational."

"This platform has sustained minor damage, Shepard-Commander."

"We blocked the road, and there's Cerberus tanks down there. There's no way out by land," James commented.

Shepard sighed, "SSV Normandy SR-2, this is Shepard. Can you get a Kodiak into Peak 15? We've got two wounded, one needing urgent medical attention, and the port is probably occupied."

"Negative on that Commander, _Unyielding Wrath _is holding position over you, and we can't fly in that storm."

"Katherine just did it with her gunship, which is massive; what do you mean you can't fly in here!"

"_Unyielding Wrath_ will blast us into vapor before we get close enough to launch the Kodiak. If you can get yourself to Port Hanshan, we can get the Kodiak to pick you up while looking inconspicuous."

"SPECTRE Williams is bleeding out on the ground missing and arm, I've got a sword wound in my chest, and Cerberus occupies Port Hanshan and has an army coming up the road! We need extraction now, and there's nowhere else to do it!"

"Commander, we can't! There's no way for us to get any airborne units to your position without being intercepted."

"I understand. You better be waiting for us at Port Hanshan."

"Wilco. _SSV Remagen Bridge_'s marines have already secured the port, but they're under heavy fire."

"Got it. We'll be down there as fast as we can," he turned to the others, "Load up the Mako, we're blasting our way out. Get extra medi-gel on Ashley, stabilize her condition. Get moving!"

* * *

Word Bearer: HERETIC! Stormtroopers, eliminate him! Call the Inquisition! How in the Emperor's Name did he get into my office complex without being intercepted! Have all the guards replaced immediately!

Well, we've got Legion and Ashley back. And, two yet to be identified extras on Katherine's side, whose identities you probably know and will be confirmed next chapter.

And, how do you survive a glancing Rail-Rifle shot? Eternal Warrior, AKA Plot-Important Character.

Also:

**Lord Inquisitor Katherine Laurea:**

**WS: **4** BS: **4** S: **3** T: **3** W: **3** I: **4** A: **3** Ld: **10 **Sv: **2+  
Infantry (Unique)  
**Wargear:  
**Master-Crafted Hot-Shot Laspistol  
Storm Bolter  
Psybolt Ammunition  
Master-Crafted Nemesis Force Sword  
Artificer Armor  
Rosarius  
Frag Grenades  
Krak Grenades  
Psyk-Out Grenades  
**Special Rules:  
**Eternal Warrior  
Stubborn  
Independent Character  
Psyker, Mastery Level 2 (Sanctic Daemonology, Divination, Telepathy)**  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Warp and Far Away

I renamed it "SPECTRE" because it's more about Shepard's (mis)adventures than Nan'ka's.

I OWN NOTHING. WH40K AND MASS EFFECT ARE OWNED BY GW AND BIOWARE, RESPECTIVELY

* * *

**_Unyielding Wrath_**

Angelica and Galantain Durisira stood side by side on the bridge; the captain was out of his throne overseeing the bridge while the ship was at rest.

"This is Katherine. We've got Shepard in the facility, but he has unexpected Tau support. Target Peak 15 facility and access road with orbital bombardment, I want it wiped of the face of the planet. Try to avoid hitting friendly troops. Also, have the medical bay ready."

"Yes, my lord," Galantain turned and shouted out over the bridge pit, "Get me a firing solution on position Peak 15! Use all lances, but save the ammunition for the macro-batteries and bombardment cannons."

"Yes my lord."

**Peak 15**

The two Makos rolled down the road away from Peak 15, Zaeed driving one and Liara driving the other. James was stabilizing Ashley's condition in the back of one Mako.

There was a brilliant lance of light that struck down from the sky to strike the facility in a massive explosion. Flames and smoke erupted into the air as two more flashed within a second of the first.

"Shit! Move!" Shepard shouted out.

Another trio of lance beams burned into the mountainside below them as the Makos rolled down the road.

"Look out!"

A set of beams struck the ground 100m ahead of the convoy, one burning a deep crater in the slow and rock of the road, the others carving deep holes in the mountainside above it.

Rock cascaded down across the road as the Makos accelerated and jumped across the smoking crater moments after the lance-beams had faded away. Nan'ka stood on top of one of the tanks, his feet mag-locked to the top as if he was riding it, to avoid being left behind.

"Up ahead! Cerberus tanks!"

At the entrance to the tunnel, the Cerberus soldiers had prepared a defensive position, a pair of tanks hull down in the snow and a string of soldiers standing read between them.

As the Makos rounded the corner towards the tunnel entrance, the Cerberus guns opened fire. There was a flash of blue as the lead Mako's shields were dropped by the two shells impacting simultaneously. Zaeed jinked, firing the jump jets to jump quickly to the side to avoid the second salvo.

The guns on the M-080's were considerably more powerful than those of the Makos, the lighter tanks wouldn't survive more than one hit.

"Rush them! We have to get past them!"

Riding atop the Mako like a snowboard, Nan'ka spun, bringing his shoulder-mounted rail-rifles to bear on one of the M-080 tanks.

The rail rifles flashed blue, and one of the Cerberus tanks went pinwheeling away, tossed off the cliff into the chasm below.

The other M-080's gun fired. The shell impacted the side of the Mako Liara was driving, blasting away the center wheel on the left side, sending parts flying across the snow. Both Makos returned fire as they raced by, only for their shells to bounce off the added armor of the modified M-080.

The Makos raced into the tunnel entrance. Shepard breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

Then the lance strikes hit. Lasers cut through the tunnel roof and into the earth, shaking the ground. Rocks fell from the ceiling as it was compromised, filling the air with blinding dust and snow.

The Makos wove, trying to avoid being crushed by the falling debris.

"Look out for the barricade!"

The lead Mako plowed into the barricade that had been erected earlier, missing the hole that Cerberus had cut in it. It smashed through the rubble, flying into the air as if launched from a jump ramp. A lucky pulse of the thrusters, and they barely saved themselves from flying off the edge. The second Mako raced out the hole as the tunnel exploded behind it, careening around the corner and off down the hill.

They screamed into the lower tunnel at a breakneck pace, rocketing down the passage.

As they emerged from the other side and slid around the corner, they almost ran into the back of a tank.

There was a small army arrayed before the entrance to Port Hanshan. At least 6 of the up-armored M-080's, and a swarm of Cerberus troopers shelled the door.

There was another tank, an odd machine, taller than the M-080's, with crawler treads that wrapped around its lozenge shaped hull. A massive cannon sat in its turret and exhaust drifted from its engine vents, visible in the cold air. It pounded away relentlessly at the fortified blast doors to Port Hanshan, blasting away chunks of hardened concrete.

Alliance marines returned fire from the battlements, volleying rockets at the Imperial tank and spraying machinegun fire at the soldiers in the field. The rockets burst harmlessly against the tank's impressive frontal armor.

Cerberus troops in medium and heavy armor followed carefully behind their M-080's or hid behind piles of rubble and embankments for cover.

Zaeed shifted into reverse, firing the cannon of the Mako at the rear of the Leman Russ Battle Tank, as Liara came around the corner and nearly rear-ended him. The gun shell from the Mako simply bounced harmlessly off the rear of the Imperial war machine, not even scratching the paint.

Both Makos backed up spraying machinegun fire at the Cerberus troops behind the M-080's, who dove to the ground for cover. Zaeed targeted one of the up-armored gun trucks, while Liara targeted another. Both Mako's fired simultaneously as they rolled backwards.

The shells penetrated the comparatively weak rear armors of the Cerberus tanks. One exploded in a brilliant flash of blue fire as its mass-effect core was breached. There was a pause, then the other one's turret blew off in a burst of flame, landing in the snow nearby.

The massive gun on the Leman Russ turned slowly around while the tank turned beneath it, one track spinning backwards while the other spun forwards, churning up a pile of snow around it. Several M-080 turrets also spun around to target the Makos as well.

Nan'ka fired, targeting his heavy rail rifles at flat side of the Imperial tank. The shots flashed through the snowstorm; the tank shook from the impact. One bounced off the thick side, the other tore through a hydraulic track tensioner and into the hull lascannon mount, demolishing the heavy weapon.

The guns on the smaller Cerberus tanks fired at the Makos while the Leman Russ completed its rotation. Its tank commander climbed out of the hatch and grabbed the pintle-mounted gun, spinning it around to target Shepard's tank squadron as well.

The Mako Liara was driving shook as the high-velocity shells pounded into it, barriers collapsing. The tank shook as another wheel was pulverized. The other shell penetrated the turret armor, demolishing the breech of the mass accelerator cannon and sending a spray of parts across the snow. The tank slipped, jerking to the side as it lost its mobility, turret wobbling aimlessly without power.

Liara, James, and Ashley dove out of the effectively wrecked vehicle as a burst of gunfire from the pintle-mounted gun on the Leman Russ ripped into the tank. The high-density slugs tore through the comparatively paper-thin armor of the alliance APC, which exploded as its mass-effect core ruptured.

The main gun on the LRBT fired at point blank on the Mako Zaeed was driving. The massive shell hit Nan'ka, who was still standing on top of it, squarely in the chest, sending his XV-88 broadside flying backwards off of it, landing in the snow on his back. The shell exploded with a blast more powerful than a thermonuclear weapon, tossing the Mako into the air. Bits and pieces, including a large chunk of the rear of the alliance APC and both rear axles, were blasted off the machine, which came to rest upside down in the snow in front of the Leman Russ, burning.

Shepard, Zaeed, and the Geth crawled out of the ruined APC.

Nan'ka stood up and fired, twin blue lines lashing out at the Imperial tank. Both shells deflected harmlessly off the nigh-impenetrable frontal plate of the war machine

"Run for it!"

The Leman Russ lurched forward, probably intending to crush them beneath its treads, as they were within the minimum range of its cannon. Shepard and his team ran, dashing to the side to avoid the armored bulk of the tank.

It collided with the flaming wreck of the Mako, crushing the Alliance APC beneath its massive weight. The Mako exploded in a brilliant blue flash, obscuring the Imperial battle tank momentarily.

When the smoke cleared, the tank continued ahead, unharmed by the point-blank detonation of the mass-effect core of the Mako.

"Move!"

The tank's cannon fired; shell detonating at point blank range against Nan'ka's battlesuit. The Broadside shook from the impact, staggering backwards, before running as fast as he could. Heavy stubber fire lashed out at Shepard.

He heard the whine of engines behind him, and the air erupted into flashes of violet light. A Vendetta gunship floated in the air behind him, with Imperial soldiers firing out the side door.

Alliance marines appeared on deck as the door slid open, laying out a hail of gunfire to distract the gunship from Shepard and his team. Lasfire flashed from the guardsmen as they dropped to the ground, thin lines spitting the men who stood at the rail of Port Hanshan. An Alliance marine screamed as he topped over the rail, falling into the snow with a smoking hole cut through him.

"We need more fire support, now!" Shepard shouted as he ran, medigel deadening the pain of the wound in his chest.

"Already en-route. _SSV Remagen Bridge_ should be over you in a minute."

"Got it!"

Shepard dove behind a snow bank as a tank cannon shell flew past him and exploded in a flash of orange fire and shrapnel. Heavy bullets from the machine gun on top of the tank slammed into the ground around him, kicking up snow. He glanced over his shoulder as he ran, running for the shelter of Port Hanshan. The Cerberus troops seemed to be falling back, so was the tank, while the gunship gave them cover.

Shepard stopped and dove to the ground, looking around. There was a man, with some sort of radio device linked to a laser pointer, hanging out the door of the gunship.

"Stop! Take cover!"

He gesticulate wildly to the marines on the balcony, who were standing there firing upon the retreating Cerberus troops and gesturing for him and his team to run the rest of the way.

"Get off the balcony!" he shouted out.

Moments later, the doorway and a chunk of the wall were vaporized by a trio of brilliant lance beams. Soldiers on the deck jumped, shielding their eyes and diving off into the snow below, trying to seek cover.

A second later, another trio of lance beams cut into the port complex from above, followed by at third strike a second after that.

Smoke and flames rose from the blackened, destroyed front of Port Hanshan. Shaken marines stood up from the snow, dazed. The Cerberus troops seemed equally stunned, momentarily blinded by the light of the massive laser cannons. The Imperial soldiers kept up their lasfire, targeting dazed marines and gunning them down before they could scream out.

The tank fired, its thunderous boom shaking everyone out of their stupor. Marines dove for cover behind snowdrifts or in the massive craters the lances had left.

"_Normandy_ to Shepard! Heads up; the cavalry's arrived!"

Shepard and the marines looked to the stormy skies as the whine of ship engines filled the air. Over the smoking port buildings came _Remagen Bridge_ and _Normandy SR-2_, mass-accelerators firing wildly as they overflew the battle. A Cerberus M-080 exploded as the _Hastings_-class frigate strafed it like a fighter.

The ground around the Cerberus troops shuddered with the impacts of the frigates' weapons, exploding into columns of dirt and ice. The Imperial gunship jerked into the air, narrowly dodging some fire directed its way. The tank shook as a mass-accelerator round bounced off of its thick frontal plate, leaving a shining silver groove in the metal.

_Remagen Bridge _circled about and set down on the ground while the Normandy, too large to land, gave cover fire and launched her Kodiak.

"Get aboard the closest lift! Quickly, quickly, before their attack craft return!" a marine shouted from inside the bay of the _Remagen Bridge_.

The Nan'ka and James ran for the frigate, the latter carrying Ashley over his shoulder. Shepard jumped aboard the Kodiak, followed by Liara, Zaeed, and the Geth platform.

"_Remagen Bridge_ wants us to distract _Unyielding Wrath_ while they make a run for it on the other side of the planet," Joker informed Shepard as the latter came aboard the _Normandy_.

"You up for it?"

"Hell yes, sir! Whatever it takes. I recon I can outfly her point-defense guns, and if things go south, we can cloak and try to slot in behind her. I recon she's got a blind spot right behind her drives."

"Don't get us killed."

The two frigates turned and rocketed skywards, trailing blue fire from their antimatter drives. As soon as they broke out of the atmosphere, _Normandy_ turned to fly straight for the looming black battle-barge while _Remagen Bridge_ burned as hard as she could without liquefying her crew under the acceleration.

**_Unyielding Wrath_**

"All troops recovered. Targeted facilities are destroyed," an officer called out.

"Contact on the auspex! Closing fast; will cross into faster-than-light velocities soon!" A bridge ensign shouted out across the bridge pit.

"Target and destroy it! Brace for impact!" the captain yelled.

Alarms sounded throughout the battle barge as her point-defense batteries came to life, lashing out at the _Normandy _as she came into range. The frigate burned her engines as hard as they would go without killing the crew. Despite the internal mass-effect field and artificial gravity, the acceleration was still felt, overpowering the inertial dampeners and pressing crewmembers into their seats with crushing force.

She spiraled and rolled, arcing away and still trying to press closer as lines of shells burst in her wake. She jolted upwards, letting loose a pair of torpedoes towards the behemoth as she thundered towards it trying desperately to throw off the aim of the point defense guns. The torpedoes had been launched well beyond the range they could hope to reach their target on their supply of fuel, much less pass through the interceptor guns, but every extra object for the point defense guns to shoot at was another gun that wasn't trying to hit the _Normandy_.

She cut to the side, curving in a long arc as she fired another set of torpedoes into space as decoys, checking her sensors to see if _Remagen Bridge_ had made it to safety. The _Hastings_-class frigate had disappeared into the void between stars under full burn.

_Normandy_ cut back, leaving a trail of antimatter fire in her wake as she came about. Shells from the defense guns of _Unyielding Wrath_ detonated in clouds of shrapnel behind her.

There was a flash of light glinting off the focusing lenses of a battery of lasers, and an explosion rang out through the _Normandy_. The frigate shuddered and began curving away to the side, circling back towards the battle-barge and around to her side and front.

**_Normandy SR-2_**

"Starboard engine assembly critically damaged, loss of thrust critical! Current course brings us into enemy broadside and forwards firing arcs at a range of nine-hundred-thirty kilometers," EDI intoned.

"Cut engine power! Launch some of the escape pods! They may ignore us if we play dead." Shepard ordered.

Shepard looked out the window as several of the _Normandy_'s escape pods rocketed into the void, bursting in balls of fire as the point-defense guns intercepted them on their predictable paths. Then the lights went out and the temperature dropped.

**_Unyielding Wrath_**

"Target destroyed. Lifeboats have been intercepted and destroyed as well. Target power is dropping rapidly," a sensor officer called out.

"Good. Contact allied vessels and prepare for departure. Set course for Omega."

"Understood. All hands, prepare for warp transition! Repeat, all hands, prepare for war transition!"

Machinery shifted and crewmen stood at their transition stations while priests and techpriests chanted litanies. Lightning crackled around the warp drives as they ripped open a hole in reality before this massive battle barge.

Tendrils of energy snapped from the tear, pulling at the battle barge and sliding off as her Gellar field activated and she slid into the realm of madness.

**_Normandy SR-2_**

"Shit! Power up all engines, full reverse! Full reverse!" Shepard shouted as he averted his eyes from the madness outside.

_Normandy _returned to life, powering up her thrusters that were operational to try to escape the pull of the vortex of madness. Eldritch energy struck her like tentacles, wrapping around her hull and dragging her into the swirling maw as the battle-barge slid in ahead of her. In a moment, she had vanished into hell. The tear disappeared moments later as the hellish energies dissipated.

Alarms rang as the _Normandy_ shook violently. Armored coverings shut the windows in an attempt to stave off the madness outside that assailed her. The sensors went haywire, giving back nothing but static. Her hull groaned as the madness exerted untold forces on her.

"Fire the engines! All hands to action stations! Try to find and follow the battle barge!, we may escape!"

**The Warp**

Athame instinctively felt the presence of a disturbance in her realm. She was weak, and growing continually weaker as the race she represented became less and less faithful. She was still far more powerful than the others around her, but she barely held a candle to the deity from beyond the galaxy that assailed her domain. She knew when his minions invaded her domain within the safety of the protective field and raged as his power forced its way in and dug out footholds in her galaxy. She could hear the cries as his minions struck down her followers, but faith was scarce and she was powerless to assist.

She felt pain and hatred as his followers experimented on and tortured her own in their dark worlds that lay hidden to her senses beyond the galaxy her followers had explored. She cursed her inability to intervene, and wished that she had the strength to strike a blow against the invader.

One of her own, accompanied by some of another race that, while similar to those that followed her foe, favored her own followers and shunned him, had somehow pierced into the hellish realm where emotions swirled and gods lived. Sensing an opportunity, she grasped their feeble ship, and protecting it with her own power, hurled it through the warp towards the source of the invader.

* * *

Well. You can expect more and more crossover-ness as the story goes on. I'm a little concerned about the direction I'm taking this, because I don't like jumping between characters on drastically different plotlines between and within chapters.


	4. Chapter 4: A Brave New World

This is the shortest chapter I have yet posted anywhere. It just felt like a decent spot to end this chapter, despite being too short. I could have added more description, I guess.

I OWN NOTHING. WH40K AND MASS EFFECT ARE OWNED BY GW AND BIOWARE, RESPECTIVELY. Also, I don't own A Brave New World, from which this chapter takes its name but otherwise has nothing to do with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**Sol System**

Earth was under siege. In a day, they had swept across Batarian space and struck the heart of the Systems Alliance. Alliance dreadnoughts fired in the skies over the planet, trying desperately to halt the invasion and protect evacuee-laden ships making their runs for the Sol-system relay.

Alliance soldiers waiting for transport cheered as they saw one of the squid-like mechanical monstrosities explode in fire under the sustained barrage of multiple dreadnoughts. The excitement did not last long, as another came forward to take its place, and none came to replace the lost Alliance warships.

"Attention all fleet units. Attention all fleet units. Execute full withdraw. Burn for the relay at flank speed, rally at the Citadel."

Overhead, the dreadnoughts and cruisers turned about and their antimatter drives flared to life, launching the ships away from their attackers. One burst into flames as a thin red line slashed her from bow to stern. Marines on the ground looked up at the massive ships descending into the atmosphere.

GARDIAN lasers flashed in the sky, lashing out against the bio-mechanical monstrosities. The defense guns harmlessly danced on the side of the incoming ships, as the humanoid forms of their hideous ground troops dropped through the sky to the groumd.

Buildings caught fire, vehicles exploded, and people screamed out as they were cut down by the red beams that lashed out from the enemy ships. Soldiers checked their weapons, and prepared to hold the line.

**_Unyielding Wrath_**

Katherine stood up in the hospitaller's medicae and regretted it immediately.

"Sit. You haven't fully recovered."

"I feel fine."

Her left hand went to her side as she grabbed the operating table with her other for stability. Sister Rachelle frowned at the Lord Inquisitor's stubborn determination to stand.

"Sit. You'll pass out on the floor if you don't."

The most feared person in the galaxy sat back down on the operating table under the glare of the sister hospitaller.

Sister Silvana strode into the room.

"My lord, we've received a transmission from the Systems Alliance."

"Are they offering to surrender?" Katherine sneered.

"Sort of. Here," Silvana handed a dataslate to the Lord Inquisitor, who lay back on the operating table and read it aloud.

"Honored Lord Inquisitor Laurea,

As of 28 hours ago, Earth, the homeworld and cradle of humanity in this galaxy, came under surprise attack by a powerful and uncountable foe from dark space, a species known as the Reapers. Our last remaining troops fight valiantly for every inch of ground, but it pains us to say that we cannot hold much longer. These enemies are larger, better protect, and better armed than any dreadnought the Systems Alliance Navy possesses, and many times more numerous than the fleets of the Citadel combined.

As a protector and champion of humanity, you surely understand the need for man to stand together in times of crisis. Our causes are the same; we fight for man's continued survival. We cannot afford to make war with each other, to make war with our own kind, when our own homeworld is occupied by the enemy and our very existence is on the line.

We turn to you now for aid in humanity's darkest hours. The other races of the Citadel Council have refused support to us, withholding their own fleets within their own borders. We must fight an stand together for humanity to continue to exist in this galaxy.

Signed, Admiral Hackett, Systems Alliance Navy and Councilman Udina, Systems Alliance Representative to the Citadel Council."

Katherine smiled and stood up carefully from the operating table, stabilizing herself first against the operating table and then standing freely.

"I'm cleared to leave the medicae, yes?"

"It's not going to stop you if I say no."

"Good. I'm going to my chambers to write a reply."

She walked out of the medicae, followed by Silvana.

**_Normandy SR-2_**

The ship shook like she was going to break up in the hellish energies of the warp. Soon, the maddening screams of damned souls and daemons could be heard as if they were screaming directly into the crew's heads. Claws scratched at the hull with horrific screeching noises, crewmen covered their ears to no avail.

In a moment, it was all still. There was silence throughout the frigate as the voices stopped and the crewmen uncovered their ears and eyes and shakily stood to their feet.

"Sensors have returned to operational status," EDI commented, "Single contact, range fifty-five-hundred kilometers and closing under moderate burn."

"Open windows. Activate distress signals," Shepard ordered, "What's the status of the crew?"

"All crewmen present and accounted for. Mental state unknown, but potentially unstable."

"Okay. Have any experiencing trauma report to the medical bay."

As the armored covering over the window slid open, Shepard stared out into the void of space over Joker's shoulder. He could see the pinprick of light that was the contact EDI had picked up fast approaching, tail of plasma fire burning bright against the stars.

"Contact is signaling on distress signal frequencies."

"Open the channel."

Shepard waited, watching as the spot of light grew larger as it came closer.

"This is Rogue Trader Miska Aksakov commanding the _Aksakov Glorialis,_ state the nature of your distress."

Shepard hesitated as the message repeated itself, while both he and Joker stared at the radio.

"This is Systems Alliance frigate _SSV Normandy SR-2_. We have suffered damage to our starboard drive assembly."

There was laughter on the other end of the link.

"Frigate, that's a good one," the voice at the end of the link laughed, "good to know you've got a sense of humor when you're lost in space with a turbolaser hole cut in your starboard engines, Systems Alliance frigate _SSV Normandy SR-2_. I'll be coming over, don't try anything or we'll hit you with more than a turbolaser," the voice laughed again.

"Contact is launching shuttlecraft."

"EDI, Can you get me a scan of their ship?"

"Affirmative. Inbound ship is approximately eleven and a half kilometers long. Scan are unable to effectively penetrate protective fields."

"Shit. It's another one."

"Or we've come to pay them a visit," Joker commented.

Shepard was silent for a moment.

"Extra-shit. Get Zaeed and the rest of the crew to the hangar bay, and have Liara hide herself. Joker, join me too, I may need your insight as to our potential for having traveled to their universe."

"Shuttlecraft is closing."

"Give them permission to dock."

Shepard suited up and headed down the lift to the hangar bay. He put away the pulse-rifle he had taken from Nan'ka, and instead held his Revenant Light Machine Gun. He met Zaeed, who was also in armor and carrying his preferred weapon, there.

The large, blocky, and from the looks of it, unarmed, shuttle slid into the hangar bay and set down with a roar of engines. The front ramp dropped, and out stepped its occupants.

First came a pair of soldiers, cradling bolt guns in their arms like they were expecting trouble. They wore long grey fur greatcoats and helmets with tinted visors that covered their eyes. Sword hilts poked out of scabbards on their belts. They looked Shepard, Joker, and Zaeed up and down, assessing them for the threat they posed, and stiffened slightly.

Out of the shuttle behind them strode their commander. She was a woman of moderate height, wearing a grey fur longcoat, covered in a truly excessive amount of gold and silver. If Katherine's clothing had been extravagantly decorated, this woman's made the inquisitor's almost seem plain. She had piercing blue eyes and long white hair, which she wore a grey fur ushanka over. On her belt hung a gold-plated pistol and a shining silver sword with a similarly gold plated hilt.

"Geez, women and their clothing," Joker commented to Zaeed.

Shepard stepped forward and held out his hand. The woman shook it.

"Miska Aksakov, pleasure to do business with you."

"Commander John Shepard, thanks for your help."

"Before we get to negotiations, if I may ask, what in the Emperor's holy name is a pleasure yacht doing way out here, emerging from a warp transition with a turbolaser hole burned in her wing?"

Shepard was at a loss for a minute.

Joker spoke up, "_Normandy _isn't a pleasure yacht! She may not be large compared to your _Assakazov Gloria_, but she packs quite a bit of firepower and can outfly you any day!"

"_Aksakov Glorialis,_" she corrected before turning to Shepard, "Captain, you should have your helmsman disciplined for insubordination. Anyway, let us discuss your predicament."

"We were caught in the warp transition of the Inquisitor's battle barge after she disabled our drives with a hit from her point defense batteries."

She took a step back, as did her soldiers.

"You're on the run from the Inquisition? What the hell were you doing, running xenotech artefacts without a writ of free trade?"

"Not really. It's a long story, I'll explain, here, follow me to the conference room. Zaeed, Joker, come with me. Joker, keep your mouth shut."

Shepard boarded the lift, followed by Aksakov and her soldiers. They walked through the hall in uncomfortable silence, until they reached the conference room.

"Anyway, you're not going to believe our story."

"Of how a yacht that claims to be a frigate on the run from the Inquisition ended up lost in space? I'm sure I won't."

"My helmsman has this theory: we come from another universe, or galaxy, or something. We have completely different technology, and there is a galactic coalition of races of which humans are a part of. I'm a special operative for the government. One day, Lord Inquisitor Katherine arrived on a planet I was investigating, and I picked her up. We initially didn't believe her stories about her Emperor and her ships, but she was a good soldier and helped us on our mission to try to stop an alien race that was abducting humans. On one of our missions, her battle-barge showed up in orbit. She continued to help us complete our mission, but as soon as that was done, she turned on us and took command of a human-supremacist terrorist organization. I was on a mission to try to find and eliminate her to end her reign of terror, but we were hit in the drive by one of her ship's defense guns while covering the retreat of an allied ship."

Miska laughed, "Alright, tell me what really happened."

"I said you wouldn't believe me. The other option is that you were caught in some sort of space anomaly and ended up in our universe."

"Seriously? I'll humor you, but it sounds like you escaped from one of those mad, screaming covens of heretics. Just because I didn't shoot you on sight doesn't mean I'm a fool. So you had a run in with an Inquisitor Lord. Did she feed you the same story about being found as a child by the Inquisitor they replaced?"

"Yeah."

"How old was she?"

"She was a hundred-something years old, or so."

"Did you believe her?"

"Why not. It's suspicious, but do we have any reason not to? Why are you asking me these questions?"

"They always say that to people they plan to betray. It's grox-shit. They execute people they find in the streets, not take them as acolytes. And they're always at least 600 or so years old, they want you to think they're young so you don't expect them to have the experience and open up and tell them everything they want you to. You're just clueless enough, especially for a xenos sympathizer, for your story to be legitimate. I would think you'd have had your back stabbed at least once," the talkative Rogue Trader paused, before continuing, "You know, it's funny; I know an Inquisitor Katherine. She's with the Ordos Xenos, and inspects my ship for contraband heretical or xenos goods. She helped me go through the paperwork to ensure that _Aksakov Glorialis_ ended up under my command instead of returned to the Imperial Navy after I found the carrier embedded on a space hulk."

"The Inquisitor Katherine we knew was part of the Ordos Malleus."

"Are all of the officers of your empire girls or something?" Joker interjected.

Miska laughed, "No, not at all. I know more men of my status than women," she turned back to Shepard, "is your crew always this poorly disciplined, or are your just trying to bother me? I can always leave you here, or seize your ship for carrying contraband xenotech. You're obviously not going have any Imperial Thrones, so here's my deal: I go through your cargo and take what I want, I also get to look at any and all technology present on your ship, and you agree to work without pay for me until I release you from service, in exchange, I don't turn you over to the Inquisition as xenos-sympathizers. I was rather much hoping that the warp signature we detected from your ship would be a space hulk to loot for archeotech."

"Do we really have a choice? You threaten us with death if we don't give you our stuff and be your slaves."

"Yes, you can choose death. But we both stand to profit here. As you put it, I get your stuff and your service, and you don't die. If I just seize it, I'm obliged to give all if it over to the Inquisition when I turn you in, and the compensation they'll pay me is far less than if I sold all 'your stuff' on the black market to high paying xenotech collectors, and the Inquisition will kill you on sight."

She lifted her gold-plated gun out of its holster on her belt and opened the breech, showing the large bolt shell that was chambered. Then she shut the breech and set it down on the table in front of her, out of reach of anybody else at the table. It made a loud thud as it hit the table.

"That's a very unsubtle threat."

**_Unyielding Wrath_**

"Councilman Udina, Admiral Hackett, humans of the System's Alliance,

We have received and accept your overture for peace. We fully understand the importance of reclaiming humanity's sacred homeworld, and pledge our support to see the invaders who would dare defile our ancestral home cleansed from the face of the galaxy and washed from history. Our own fleets and soldiers will set sail to join yours as soon as they are battle-ready.

However, do not misjudge our acceptance of your offer of peace as our own weariness of war or acceptance of your misguided policies. Know that the responsibility for your failure to defend the homeworld of humanity falls solely with yourself and your misplaced trust in the xenos to render you aid. We aid our kind, humans, not a government that places other races before its own.

Signed, Lord Inquisitor Katherine Laurea, Ordo Malleus, Representative of the Imperium of Man, Imperial Liaison to Cerberus."

Katherine tapped her stylus on her dataslate and stood up from her bed. She exited her quarters into the commons area, and handed it to the girl that was sitting at the table with a set of dataslates in front of her.

"Miss Lawson, please have this transmitted in written form to the government of the Systems Alliance. I will record a holovid and audio-only version for general broadcast."

"Right away, Miss Laurea," Oriana snapped to her feet.

She swept her work together into a neat stack and left the room to deliver Katherine's letter to the communications officer. The Inquisitor sat down in her customary chair and switched on the holorecorder.

As she finished her recording, Oriana stepped back into the room, dataslate under her arm. She slid the dataslate across the table to Katherine, who stopped it at the edge.

"Don't do that. It'll scratch my table."

"Sorry Miss Laurea," Oriana bowed her head slightly, then unstacked the work she had been doing earlier and spread it back out on the table.

Katherine picked up the dataslate she had been passed, looked at it, and sighed. She took a few minutes to scribble some notes on the pad and then passed it over to Oriana.

"Take this to the quartermaster. Tell him to prioritize the regulars armed with boltguns and the Grey Knights for bolt-shells. Also, talk to the Mechanicus and see about finding a STC for a tank that can be produced with local materials. Those trucks Cerberus has are inadequate for combat duties."

"Yes, right away."

**_SSV Remagen Bridge_**

The radio cracked: "Attention all Alliance Navy unit, attention all Alliance Navy units, rally at the Citadel. We repeat, rally at the Citadel. Earth has fallen."

* * *

Anyway, two-way crossover now! With an overly talkative Rogue Trader. There's going to be more entities going back and forth eventually. And the Reapers are here. Well, that's that. I'll try to write a longer chapter for the next one to make up for this being 200 words short of my usual 3k words to post threshold.


End file.
